In The Hague, Duterte’s drug war victims and their lawyers walk afraid

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – When Filipinos are overseas, hearing a Philippine language being spoken is usually a welcome sound, but not for Sheerah Escudero, sister of an 18-year-old who was killed in the name of Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.

In The Hague, a small, quiet – and some say boring – city, Escudero walks warily. Even though she says she senses The Hague is safe, and can see “kung gaano kalaya ang mga tao rito (how free people are here)” she is “afraid some Duterte supporters might recognize us.”

“Whenever I am in a public place and there are groups of Filipino people, I try my best not to get noticeable, or I try my best not to get recognized. I know we’re all over the Duterte pages. So I’m afraid some Duterte supporters might recognize us,” said Escudero.

Escudero arrived in The Hague, Netherlands, last weekend to attend Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing that started on Monday, February 23.

Escudero said that while she has not “encountered anything negative yet” with Duterte supporters in person, her fear is brought about by harassment and attacks she had endured especially since Duterte was arrested March last year.

“They say I’m an addict, I am paid, and all sorts of things,” Escudero said. (The worst message she received is threat of sexual assault.)

Escudero is a 28-year-old virtual assistant who loves film cameras. The Hague would be good to photograph, but she says she finds it hard to enjoy the city.

“This was never our dream. Yes, we are in Europe but what are we doing in Europe? Are we having fun? Do we look like we’re having fun? We’re not enjoying any bit of this, but we’re willing to take all the pain just for justice,” said Escudero.

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‘We feel like fugitives’

Even the victims’ lawyers do not feel comfortable walking around. Joel Butuyan, the court-appointed common legal representative for victims, said the legal team feels as if they are hiding from Filipinos.

“When we reported to the victims that we, their external legal representatives, feel like fugitives who avoid our own countrymen here in The Hague, because chances are they are Duterte clones, they expressed their utmost concern that if we, their lawyers, feel threatened by mini-Dutertes in a foreign country, we should imagine the far more intense fear they live with every day in their communities teeming with mini-Dutertes,” Butuyan told judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday, during the first day of the weeklong confirmation of charges hearing.

“Isn’t that ironic?” Escudero said. “Wala ka namang ginawang masama sa ibang tao, pero bakit ikaw pa yung natatakot na makilala? (You have not done anything bad to other people, yet why is it that you’re the one afraid of being recognized?) I find it absurd at the same time frustrating,” said Escudero.

Duterte supporters had flown in from all over Europe to support the former president, and they gather everyday at a cordoned off area in front of the Schveningen prison complex where he is detained. If you are commuting to the ICC or to prison, chances are you’ll find Filipinos on the same tram or bus – and you’d have to guess which side they are on.

Llore Pasco, a 71-year-old mother whose two sons were killed by policemen, said she’s nervous whenever she goes near the court. She said she tries to keep conversations with strangers short.

“Masyado kami masinsin sa pagmamasid at pag-iingat. Ganun naman nun eh – mag-iingat ka lang. Kung hindi mo naman talaga kakilala na tao or unfamiliar sa ‘yo, eh pagka tinanong ka, ‘hi’ and ‘hello’ lang. Hello and goodbye. Parang ganun lang kaiksi,” Pasco said.

(We’re very vigilant and very careful. That’s how it is – you just need to be careful. If you don’t know the person or they are unfamiliar to you, if they ask you, just say ‘hi’ and ‘hello.’ Hello and goodbye. It’s that short.)

‘Mini-Dutertes’

Butuyan spent a good part of his opening statement criticizing the “fanatics” of Duterte. Butuyan recalled one of Duterte’s controversial remarks that if Adolf Hitler killed “three million Jews,” he’d be “happy to slaughter” three million addicts. (Hitler presided over the murder of about six million Jews – not three million – in the years leading up to and throughout World War II, historians estimate.)

“Yet, he is worshipped by a huge number of Filipinos. In so many countries, you will need to hide your adoration of Hitler. Mr. Duterte flaunted it, and his fanatics are unaffected by it,” said Butuyan.

“Mr. Duterte has created clones of himself. He converted millions of peace-loving citizens into bloodthirsty disciples who have become converts to the belief that violence and killings are valid solutions to societal problems,” said Butuyan.

After the first day of the pre-trial proceedings on Monday, Duterte supporters waited outside the court to chant his name and take selfies with his former Cabinet members.

Lydjay Acopio, whose three-year-old daughter Myca was killed by policemen, was on the other side of the pavement looking on.

“Sisigaw pa ba sila ng Duterte kung ‘yung isa sa pamilya nila, mahal nila sa buhay ay pinatay ni Duterte?” she said.

(Would they scream Duterte if one of their family members, or one of their loved ones, was killed by Duterte?) – Rappler.com